Joe Fowler, president, Stress Engineering Services Inc.

Joe Fowler believes that the best way to overcome obstacles is to avoid them. So as president of Stress Engineering Services Inc., he’s put in place policies and growth strategies designed to take the actual stress off his customers and employees.

In addition to its unique, niche business strategy — marrying clients’ needs with the strengths and interests of each employee — the company’s key differentiator is its culture.

As a consulting engineering and testing firm serving the energy and consumer product industries, Stress Engineering handles a significant number of projects each year. To ensure that every project, and all its moving parts, is completed efficiently, Fowler highly promotes internal cooperation within the business. All employees are evaluated on their cooperation, facilitating a collaborative and productive work environment.

Fowler also ensures that each project is assigned a project manager, who, in turn, has business managers and practice leaders who can supply them with the people, equipment and other resources they need to achieve all project goals. Furthermore, he introduced fair and generous employee policies, offering competitive benefits and employee ownership to motivate everyone in the organization to fulfill the company’s motto of delivering the “right stuff on time.”

The ability for employees to operate with little top-down direction has allowed for increased efficiency and low turnover that drives Stress Engineering’s growth as a profitable company. As a 100 percent employee-owned business, its low turnover rate averages less than 5 percent over the years. As a result, the company’s culture has been recognized in numerous “Best Places to Work” lists.

Sign Up For News In Your Market

Stay up-to-date with local business news and networking events from Smart Business. Sign up to receive advice from business professionals, or register for information on our networking events near you!